The Darkness by W.J. Lundy

glistening ivory fangs and blackened gums. Suddenly, the thing’s arms
shot out. Reaching for Jacob, it lunged forward over the island. It opened its
mouth to yell but was halted by Murphy leaping from out of the dark and landing
on the thing’s back. Murphy quickly wrapped his forearm around its mouth to
block the scream from escaping. Pulling a knife with his free hand, he shoved
the blade into the creature’s neck. Together they flew over the island and
crashed into Jacob, the three of them dropping hard to the tile floor.
    Murphy held on until the
thing stopped moving then rose above it, continuing to stab at the base of its
neck. When the black-eyed man finally stopped twitching, he pulled his arm away
and rested back on his ankles. Jacob struggled below them and pulled himself
clear. Murphy dropped back to his rear and scooted until he was across the
kitchen, pressed against the refrigerator. Jacob continued to crawl away toward
the light then rolled to his back and looked up at the ceiling.
    Breathing hard, he pushed
himself to a sitting position and nursed his wounded hip. The thing’s head was
turned in his direction; its blank eyes seemed to glare at him as the black,
oily blood drained from its neck onto the tile floor. Jacob looked across the
kitchen at Murphy, who reached up and ripped a decorative towel from the
refrigerator handle then used it to wipe the blade of his knife.
    Murphy rolled to his
knees and climbed to his feet. He pulled open the refrigerator door then looked
away as a stench hit him. He looked back and, cupping a hand over the end of
his flashlight, looked through the fridge again. Pulling out a bottle of water,
he closed the door and twisted the cap from the bottle. He drank half of it and,
on his return to the living room, tossed the rest to Jacob as he walked past
him.
    “Get up; we’ve got to
move,” Murphy whispered.
     

Chapter
8
     
     
     
    The solar light went out
and stayed out. The house and yard were dark—no sign of the things. Murphy
moved them to the front of the house where they hid on a large, open front
porch. A wood swing hanging from the rafters squeaked as the wind moved it.
    “There,” Murphy
whispered, pointing in the distance.
    Murphy held out his
goggles and put them to Jacob’s eye. Jacob blinked and let his vision adjust to
the optics. Up ahead, on the opposite corner, a light flashed. Jacob dropped
the goggles. Looking in the same direction, he now saw nothing.
    “You can’t see it without
the NODs; it’s infrared. I have one just like it,” Murphy whispered while
removing a small chip holding a tiny bulb. Murphy manipulated the device
connecting the battery then held it over his head. “He’s in the scrub brush.
How well do you know that area?”
    Jacob looked back at him
confused. “I… I don’t know it at all. I mean, it’s just a few empty lots… was
supposed to be developed—”
    “Buddy, I don’t need a
real estate lecture. Do you know what’s on the other side of it?”
    Jacob looked back to the
distant tree line. “It moves out from here. There is a railroad bed at the back
of the lots; that’s the reason they never sold… I mean, there’s railroad tracks
back there, then past that and through the trees is a two-lane highway.”
    “Route 30?” Murphy asked.
    Jacob nodded and watched
as Murphy pulled a small spiral notebook from a pocket on his sleeve. He began
to sketch their location, then scribbled notes that Jacob couldn’t make out.
Murphy folded over the page and stuck the notebook back in his pocket. “Okay,
that should bring us out on the approach to the safe zone. You ready to move?”
    “What about the motion
light?” Jacob asked.
    “Well, either those
things are gone, or the battery died. You can’t go home, and we can’t stay
here.”
    “I understand.”
    “Good; I’ll run with you
to the corner and stop. You keep going and head to the trees. Slow down to a
walk when you cross the street; Stephens will find